Southern California -- this just in

O.C. mother gets 25 years for killing daughter, injuring son

December 7, 2012 | 5:11
pm

An Orange County mother who used such force on her 23-month-old twin daughters that one died of a ruptured heart and the other was left with a skull fracture was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday.

Linda Wilborn, 34, was found guilty by a jury in October of one felony count of second-degree murder, one felony count of assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death and two felony counts of child abuse, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

Prosecutors said that Wilborn, who had four children and lived in Seal Beach, abused her twins between Oct. 17, 2009, and Dec. 17, 2009, when the little girl died and the boy was left injured. On that day, prosecutors said, Wilborn was at home with her children and her husband was at work.

Prosecutors said she "inflicted tremendous blunt force trauma" to the girl's stomach, and that she called authorities that afternoon to report the girl was unresponsive.

The girl was taken to a hospital, where she died from a ruptured heart, prosecutors said.

Further examination revealed that the girl had fresh and old fractures to her ribs, and her brother had a fractured skull. The two other children showed no physical signs of trauma, prosecutors said.

The three surviving children were placed in protective custody, prosecutors said.